1911 Colt rebuild

[ismith]

Ive put probally around 50 rnds though her so far without a hickup.

Information

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[DaveN]

Interesting. Could we see some detailed pictures of the markings and parts as it makes it more fun and you may get more comments. Serial range would be nice to know too but i'm only suggesting as it seems this forum and some others have slowed down a bit. Just an observation.

[Johnny Peppers]

Looks like No.54365. A mixture of original and non-original parts.

[DaveN]

Just a thought ...if some one was to get one in this condition would it hurt to have the finish restored since it's a rebuild. I know the money spent would not be recovered if resold but should it be done to make it more presentable?

[Johnny Peppers]

Too many incorrect parts on that one for a restoration, and generally speaking, most that are in a condition where a restoration wouldn't hurt will have a mix of parts.

[DaveN]

So just clean it keep it oiled and even though it's considered a shooter, shoot it at your own risk due to possible lack of propper heat treating back then. Does that also apply to WW2 models when it comes to weak metal and am I to understand it affects only the slide?

[Johnny Peppers]

The 1911A1 pistols were not heat treated either. Beginning in 1937 the front of the slide of the 1911A1 was hardened to prevent wear and battering in that area, and in early to mid 1943 the slide stop notch in the slide was hardened to prevent battering. Nothing was done to strengthen the overall strength of the slide or receiver of the 1911A1 until right at the end of production when fully hardened slides were tested.

The small parts of the 1911A1 were heat treated, sometimes causing them to show up darker after finishing after the phosphate finish was adopted.

[DaveN]

Yes the slide on that colt/rem rand had the darker area 2 inches from the muzzle and what looked like they used a torch on the slide stop notch. That slide is a 43.

[Johnny Peppers]

The slide on the above pistol appears to be a Springfield, with just a trace of the eagle on the right side.

[jmoore]

What's wrong with the way it looks "as is"? So it's got edge wear and such. I'd rather have a "no finish" pistol than a reblue, unless perhaps it was done by Doug Turnbull or similar. In which case you could have bought an original for about the same money.